Choices
by breathless16
Summary: Richard is beginning to regret leaving Raven, especially when an old friend comes back and makes him realize what a big mistake he made. But is it too late? And what about Kori? sequel to Remember. COMPLETE
1. Choice

I am here and I have the new story! YAY! Okay. Remember just hit 115 reviews, so I real happy. Thanks to all those people who did submit names for Raven's new name. (Oh, and whoever submitted pigeon, I'm not trying to mean or anything, but that really made me laugh) Now that I think of it, mystery was kind of corny, so thanks for pointing that out DracoSexyYetSinister.

This story has been dedicated to Chica De Los Ojos Café. She informed me that that means "Girl with brown eyes." But, wait, doesn't café have to do with food? I don't know. I don't speak Spanish. I speak part French. Anyway, she was my first 100th reviewer (and hopefully not my last!)

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(this first chapter will be a little flashback-y at first.)

Richard Grayson sat at his kitchen table with his newspaper open. He stared at it. The front page said, "WHERE IS NIGHTWING WHEN WE NEED HIM?"

Yes, that's right. Richard Grayson, the former Robin and current Nightwing had left Gotham city. All it had taken was being trapped in Wayne Manor with a serial killer.

Kori Anders, who has been known as Starfire and Koriand'r, had taken it upon her self to go and kill the past superheroes Aqualad, Bumblebee, Terra, Beast Boy/Changeling, and Speedy, her husband. She had also killed Mark, her former boyfriend, Jinx, and Kitten, daughter of Killer Moth.

But the worst part was that she almost managed to kill Richard, and the girl known as Thea Vrorn. Now, you may be asking, "Who is she?"

Well, it all happened a while ago; five years to be exact.

_**FLASHBACK**_

The red alarm flashed in Titans' Tower around 3:30 in the afternoon. The five teens soon huddled around the monitor to see someone they thought had died.

"Slade," Robin sneered angrily.

"Hello. I'm very glad to see you. All of you. I wish I could sit here and make small talk, but, you've got a job to do. You see this place where I am?" Slade said, as the view shifted.

Beast Boy gasped as he saw Terra's grave. He felt a small lump form in the back of his throat. "What are doing?" he shouted, feeling enraged. The other four stared at him in disbelief. They didn't know he had such anger in him.

"This place is about to become the record holder for the largest earthquake in the Jump City area. That is if you don't make it in time," Slade said as he looked at the screen, but the 5 teens were gone.

What he didn't tell them is that all of it was a lie. A titan was about to die today, and that was a promise.

He was surprised when he saw them arrive so quickly. Robin stood there, his Bo staff ready. Raven stood next to him, her cape blowing in the wind. The others had not arrived yet.

They went on fighting him, until the other three arrived. He jumped back, and put a sly grin on his face.

"There's no earthquake."

"What!" They all shouted at once.

"No earthquake. This will now be the spot where the Titans shall be finished," He said as he threw a bomb onto the wall, and quickly ran out.

The building began to collapse around them almost instantly. Starfire was darting around, a worried look spread across her face. Beast boy had turned into a cheetah, and was racing out the door. Cyborg was running as fast as his mechanical legs would carry him. Raven was about to phase through the ground, when she saw Robin struggling under a main support beam. She ran over and lifted it off of him.

"Starfire!" she shouted. The orange girl flew down and grabbed the semi-conscious Robin. Then, she turned her head, and saw a large rock flying towards her. She tried to duck, but by doing that, it hit her in the temple.

She began to feel dizzy. "Raven!" she heard robin shout. She turned and saw Robin trying to get down from Starfire. He succeeded against Starfire's warnings; But Raven had all ready collapsed. Cyborg, who was closer, tried to grab her.

The rubble was all ready piling up over them. A large pile then buried Cyborg. Starfire began digging for him, when Robin pulled an unconscious Raven out. Starfire tried to calling out to him , not really understanding what was going on. But even if she did, there was no response. Finally she reached him.

Robin's breath caught in his throat. Cyborg usual light blue glow was gone, and replaced with black. His human eye was closed, and his electronic was black as well.

Once the paramedics arrived, Raven and Cyborg where carted to the hospital. When the other three arrived later, they found that Raven was in a coma, and Cyborg was gone.

Raven lay in a coma for 3 months, 1 and half of it in ICU. She lay there even during the break up of the titans.

Robin was there when she woke up, and he told her. Despite his pleads, she quickly fled to Azerath. She then learned how to keep the emotions under controls until she was finally able to release them and use them.

She returned a year later, and used the anagram of Raven Roth as Thea Vrorn.

_**FLASHBACK ENDS**_

She didn't meet Richard again until that costume party at Wayne Manor. There, they were locked in the place, and had to watch Kori kill 9 people, and try to kill them. After she had shot herself, she tried to make it look like she had tried to protect Richard from Raven. But, Richard had made it through, and told Bruce what really happened.

Raven, on the other hand, was in another painful coma. Richard then left her, thinking it was best if they just didn't proclaim their love for each other. If they did, people would find out. Richard just couldn't let that happen. He didn't know himself anymore; and if word got out that the co-owner of Wayne Enterprise was in love with a half-demon; well, we'll say it wouldn't be pretty for Raven.

Richard went back to Jump City and chopped his hair off, so it resembled the look he once sported when he was 14. Come one, how many six-foot people have long black hair that isn't Nightwing?

Then, his eyes began scanning over the article. It was mostly complaints of how the street weren't safe anymore. Then, something caught his eye. It was a small blurred black-and-white picture.

It looked like a female. Her long hair was blowing upward. She wore a black spandex tank top with only one strap. Her red leather skirt showed off her long legs and long black bots with red jagged line streaking upwards on them. A black mask with eyes outlined in red framed her eyes.

The caption under the picture said, "Newest villain threatening Gotham. Ebony Shadow has been terrorizing our city." (Ooh, I bet you know what's happening now!)

Richard shrugged, and placed the paper on the table when he heard a knock on the door. He got up and walked over.

When he was opened it, he was expecting his annoying neighbors. But wht he saw made his mouth drop. "Richard? How are you?"

The tall man standing at his front door made Richard begin to think he was going nuts. It was Vic.

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Ooh. Wow. Lots of things happened. Raven's a villain. Vic's back. What else could happen? coughKoricough.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Later!


	2. Vic

Wow! 5 reviews already! I know a lot of you were surprised when it was Vic at the door, and not Raven. Oh, and I just reread the first chapter. There was one point where i said it was a black and white picture, but Ebony Shadow wore a red skirt. Duh! Sometimes I scare myself with how ditzy I am, and I'm not even a blonde! So, here's the next chapter.

I can't believe some of you figured out the whole thing with Raven all ready. You are such party-poopers!

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Richard felt like his head was spinning. Here he was, Victor Stone, standing in front of him. Victor stone supposedly died 5 years ago.

"V-Vic?" Richard stuttered.

"It's nice to see you again," Victor said in his deep voice. He stuck out his hand. Richard now knew he wasn't dreaming- it was that same computerized look Cyborg had had; only it was green now.

"But-but…how?" was all Richard could say.

"I'll tell you. Do you mind if I come in, though?" Vic said.

Richard led him in slowly. He sat at the table, while Victor sat across from him.

"Surprised to see me?" Victor said.

Richard said with his mouth open.

"Well, I guess I should start at the beginning. About one year after I died, the scientist who was there when the accident happened found my memory disk at the site of Terra's grave. He took it, and he still had the blue prints form my former body, so he rebuilt it with some upgrades. Two weeks ago, voila! Here I am again."

Richard smiled. "That's amazing. You don't know how much we missed you," he said.

"But that's not why I am here. First I need to know what happened after. Second, I need to know what happened at Wayne Manor with you and Rae," He said frowning.

Richard then went into the long-winded explanation of the break up. Then he began on the Starfire story.

"So, who was killed?" he said, furrowing his brow.

Richard took a deep breath. "Terra, Speedy, Aqualad, Kitten, Jinx, Mark, T'Keyah, and Gar," he said softly, as he saw Vic cringe at the mention of Bumblebee and Beast Boy.

"Raven and I were almost killed. Kori kidnapped Raven and held her as a hostage. Then, she tried to shoot me, but she shot Raven instead. Then, she shot me before herself. She tried to then make it look like Raven was the murderer."

Vic whistled softly. "But where's Rae now?"

Richard looked down at his hands. He knew that this question was coming. "I-I don't know. I left her in the hospital,"

"YOU WHAT!" Vic shouted.

"I knew I couldn't let myself harm her anymore. So, I left her. You don't understand. The only reason why Kori started this is because I broke up with her 5 years ago. She knew I was in love with raven, so she decided to formulate this plan. I knew the only reason why Raven had been hurt was because of me. She stayed in a painful coma for a month, if longer. It was because she had tried to save me. Oh my god, I sound like Raven," Richard said.

"What?" Vic said with a strange look on his face.

"…Raven blamed herself for your death. She thought that she should have died instead, because you died trying to save her. Now, I sound like her because I think that it's my fault that Raven made a choice to try and save me, just like you made a choice to try and save her," Richard thought out.

Vic nodded with a small smile on his face. "You do know what you have to do now, don't you?"

"Vic, I can't go find her. She'll hate me for leaving her. After dealing with her, I'll have to deal with Bruce for leaving as Nightwing," Richard said.

Vic shrugged. "So? The Richard Grayson I once knew didn't care what anyone thought. He would go up to the girl he loved, explain he left to protect her, and then apologize to her. Bruce? That's another story. …Listen, all you have to do is say you needed time to clear your head from what happened. Then, you say you're back," Vic said as he crossed his arms.

"I guess your right," Richard said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Of course I am. Hey, to even make you feel better, I'll go with you!" he said, standing up. He pushed a button on his wrist. Long probes with pieces of painted metal shot out of his body. They attached themselves like a jigsaw puzzle. Richard no longer saw Cyborg. He saw Vic; the amazingly strong muscular handsome yet bald African. He wore a Lakers Jersey with a pair of black jeans and sneakers.

Richard grabbed his jacket, and they soon left.

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They sped along in Vic's black Viper. When they arrived at Wayne Manor, the guardsman asked them who they were. "It's Mr. Grayson," Richard said.

The gates swung open. They sped in. Once they arrived, Richard jumped out of the car. He nervously walked up the stairs, wringing his hands as he went. He pulled the door knocker, and quickly knocked.

Alfred opened the door. "Ah, Master Grayson. Master Bruce has been looking for you. Follow me," he said before he turned around and walked away. Richard followed slowly.

Alfred took him to Bruce's main office. Richard slowly turned the knob to go in. He walked in. "Bruce?" he questioned.

"Richard, where the hell have you been?" Bruce said sharply without even looking at him.

"Did you ever think about what I had to endure during those eight horrible days? If I had gone on the job right after, I wouldn't have been able to concentrate, and someone may have gotten hurt. How would you have felt if someone had gotten hurt when it was your fault? I all ready have to deal with Raven being still in a coma because she tried to save me. I needed to clear my head. I'm done now, so you don't go yelling at me because I was trying to help myself!" Richard shouted.

Bruce turned somewhat alarmed. "Richard, I'm sorry I snapped at you. You are right. What you did was perfectly fine. I am happy you did. But, now that you have returned, so has Nightwing," he said as he grabbed a small TV remote.

"What do you mean?" Richard said.

"Gotham City desperately needs Nightwing again," Bruce said as he turned on the TV. There was a picture of the same girl Richard had seen in the paper.

"Who is that?" Richard said.

"Meet Ebony Shadow, or as you know her, Raven Roth."

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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! I'm so bad. I'm going to leave you guys hanging again! That is so awesome. R&R please! Thanks!


	3. Ebony

Hey guys. I'm just about to look at how many reviews I got. (looks over at the number, gasps, and faints) GOD! 27 reviews for only 2 chapters. Sheesh! You guys rule. Weren't you surprised when you found out who Ebony Shadow is?

Mwhahahahahaha!

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Richard sat in his bedroom back in Jump city later that night. He was crouched over on his bed, with his head in hands. He just wasn't able to comprehend it. Raven, the girl who had once fought at his side, was now going against everything she had ever done. And deep down at the pit of his stomach, Richard knew he was the cause of it. He had let her in hospital to protect her, but by doing it, he only brought more pain and suffering to her.

Vic was downstairs. Richard had offered to let Vic stay with him, for Vic didn't have a home. After Bruce told him what Raven had become, Richard wouldn't believe him. Bruce told him it was okay if he needed some time to himself, and told him to come back in the morning. Boy, was he right.

Richard stood up and began to pace. He pushed his choppy black hair away from his face. It just wouldn't register. He had gone over and over it in his mind, but it just didn't seem right.

He could see Kori being evil, because her whole façade was fake. He could see Gar being evil because of his image problems. He could see Cyborg being evil to show he could. He could even see himself being evil to show himself that he was the best. But the only one he couldn't see was Raven. She was the one who would be thought and said to be the most evil, but she was the least likely.

How he wished that things could go back to way they were back when the Titans were 13. Then something hit him. "I wonder if I still have it," he said to himself softly. He went rummaging through a nightstand that sat next to his bed. Even though his bedroom was only dimly lit, he easily saw it, safely kept at the bottom of the drawer. He had put this together after the group had been together for 5 years. Later that month, they broke up. He opened the cover to the photo album, and saw the photos of them when they were 11. Beast boy had been a lot shorter. Star had a less womanly body. Robin himself had more childlike face. And Raven seemed much more innocent.

Then, there was a picture from a newspaper after they had defeated their first villain. So many pictures brought smiles to Robin's face. He could feel himself being brought back to that exact moment of when it happened. After many pages, he found one that he didn't remember. It was the entire team after one of Bruce's Christmas parties. They were all extremely tired, but they had huge smiles on their faces. Robin, instead of being with Star, had his arm around Raven, who was giving one her extremely rare genuinely happy smiles. The three boys had on tuxes, while Starfire had on a pink cocktail dress, and Raven had on a dark red one-shouldered gown.

Richard was feeling himself smile even more. He just wished that everything could be as simple as it had been back then. Back then, before anyone was dead, or was a psychotic killer. He just wanted everything back to normal.

Richard then heard a tap on his door. He shook himself from his thoughts, and sprang off the bed. He walked to the door. Opening it, Vic was giving him an odd look. "Are you okay? You've been up in here for a pretty long time man," he said worriedly.

Richard nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I just think I'll go to bed now. Make yourself at home. If I'm not home in the morning, I've probably retuned to Bruce's house, so don't worry," he said before he shut the door.

As soon as he heard Vic walk away, he walked back towards the bed. He pulled the book back into his hands, and began to look through it once more. He finally reached the last page; a page that made his throat tighten at the sight of it. It was a lone picture…of Vic's grave, where his old body was buried.

As he began to close it, he saw a small piece of white paper shoved into the back cover area. He grabbed it out, and unfolded it. When he looked at the date, he couldn't believe it; it said June 11th, 2000. He then began to intently read it.

_Dear Richard_

_I know that you don't agree with what I decided to do. But all I can say is that was my only choice. It was my fault, and if the people of Gotham City were ever to find that out, my life would be ruined, but more importantly yours. If they found out it happened because of me, then they would say that you had kept a killed from the city, and how dare I protect them. _

_Anyway, the reason I decided to write this is because I have to tell you something very important. If I don't tell you, I'll never be able to live with myself. I may sound crazy when I do this, but I have to. The thing is, Richard, is that I love you. I always have, and I always will. I just knew that if I wasn't probably going to see you again, I needed to get that off of my chest. I probably sound like a whack job, saying I'm in love with you, while you have a beautiful girl like Starfire with you. I just hope you don't hate me for what I'm doing, and for also telling you this. I will miss you Richard, very dearly. This is harder for me to leave, than it is for you. But the reason why I'm doing it is to protect you, because I don't want you to have to suffer because of me. I hope you will find this soon._

_Sincerely,_

_Raven_

Richard felt horrible now. He had been angry at her for leaving, but she had done it because she loved him. Richard laid back on the bed, his hands folded behind his head. His thought to himself "What am I going to do?" before he ended up falling into a restless, dreamless sleep.

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The next morning, Richard woke up around 7. He got out of bed, showered, and got dressed. He then headed down stairs. After making a cup of coffee, he headed towards the door. Vic was asleep on the couch snoring fast asleep. Richard shook his head with a laugh, and he walked out.

Richard drove silently over the town border in his black Porsche. As soon as he reached Wayne Manor, he quickly locked the doors, and trudged up the steps. Alfred answered the door, and brought him to Bruce's main office.

"Hello Richard," Bruce said softly. Richard gave him a small wave before he sat down in a chair.

"Well, we had an anonymous clue on where Ebony Shadow might be last night, so we went out to try and find her. We then found her dead body in the street. He body had been mangled to the point of un-identification practically. I'm sorry, but she's gone," Bruce said.

Richard shook his head. "That isn't right probably."

"Richard, I'm sorry, but she's gone!" Bruce said strongly. He then took a deep breath. "Look, I know you had a fling with her, but that's not love," he said.

"How dare you tell me what I had with Raven was not love! I loved her. She ended up in a coma for a month and a half 6 months ago because she wanted to save me. Five and a half years ago, she was in a coma for another 3 months, because she had tried to save me. What, are you going to tell me that What Kori and I had together was love, even though it was fake!" Richard shouted. He had never seen Bruce like this, so cold.

"Richard, you fell in love with over the course of one week. You had fallen in love with Kori over a time period of 5 years, so yes, I would call what you and Kori had was love."

"How would you know what love is? You've never been in love!" Richard shouted.

Bruce ignored everything thing Richard had just said. "Speaking of Kori, we also have this to show you." He said as he aimed a small remote at a screen. He then saw a grave that said _Kori Anders_, _1984-2005_. Right in front of the grave was a large pile of overturned dirt that seemed to have exploded.

"She won't stay dead!" Richard said.

"I'm afraid not. Richard, you need…" Bruce was interrupted by a loud buzzing sound, and a bright red light. He quickly began to type on his laptop. Richard walked over quickly and stood near him.

"There's been a break-in at the old warehouse on 54th, and 9t," Bruce said.

"Wait, let me go. I have a feeling I know who this is." Richard said before he ran out. Bruce had held a spare Nightwing costume for him at his house.

As soon as Richard had gotten dressed, he soon jumped onto a small black motorcycle in Bruce's garage. (A/N- I have no idea what Nightwing drives, but this is it in the story!)

After a few breathless minutes, he arrived at the warehouse. He stepped of the motorcycle, and stealthily ran in.

As he was looking around, all he saw was darkness. He pulled out a small flashlight he had attached to his belt, but it only made it somewhat lighter. He looked around, but saw nothing until he saw a shadow whip past him out of nowhere. Richard tried to follow it, but it seemed to have disappear. He pulled out his staff, ready to strike at any minute. As he walked, he heard a _creak_ hat he knew did not come from him.

He ran towards it. Still nothing. "Come out, I know you're in here!" He shouted. Then, the same shadow crossed his path, but this time, it was a mere 5 feet in front of him. By the time he had reached out to try and grab her, she was gone. But this time he also managed to follow her. She ran through a maze like area, hoping to shake him off her. But he followed precisely.

She soon stopped in a small alcove, hoping he wouldn't realize she had stopped, and he would run by her. Maybe, if she tried to talk to him, he'd understand.

She realized he hadn't run by, so now was her chance. She stepped out, but before she could say anything, she felt a shooting pain in her abdomen. She looked down, and saw Nightwing's staff lodged in her stomach. She clutched her stomach, as she felt the warm red liquid flow into her hands.

"Not so great are we now?" said Nightwing, as he tried to see her. She tried o open her mouth, but the salty taste of blood filled, it causing her to cough.

"You're a despicable person, you know that? I never loved you. I may have protected you then, but, I can't wait to kill you; to see you drop to the floor and beg for mercy, to see you strain for air, as I laugh," he said.

She tried to being to breathe deeply to try and distract herself from the pain, but Nightwing came and grabbed the pole. He moved it around, before mercilessly ripping it from her body. She backed up against the wall, eyes closed in pain. She then sank onto the floor.

She wanted to apologize, but she knew he wouldn't believe him. What she had done was wrong. She gripped onto the wall and pulled herself up. She then started to walk over toward Nightwing. She was about to open her mouth when Nightwing delivered a hard blow to her stomach.

The pain was overwhelming now. She felt moist tears run down her face. Nightwing saw them as well. He then laughed coldly.

She lowered her voice. "You aren't the man I fell in love with, and you never were," was all she said before she collapsed onto the floor.

Richard caught her before she hit the ground. Her body soon became limp as her head drooped towards the ground. He grabbed the flashlight and clicked it on. He heard himself gasp when e shone it onto her face. "No," he thought to himself. It wasn't Kori, like he thought it was. It was Ebony. He had just stabbed her.

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Ohh. It is getting feisty in here. I hope you liked that little twist at the end. It was fun to write. Anyways, if you did like, please let me know. I love hearing from you guys. Later.


	4. Guilt

Hey, what's up? I can't believe how many reviews I'm up to now. Last time I checked I think that I was at 40.

Has any one seen what the old Teen Titans comic books were like? I was on google, looking for picture of the current Titans because I want to learn how to draw them. I then come across this picture where it the comic book Titans, and boy, it was scary. Raven…was a blond. But you know how Starfire is all about girl power and she gives off this wholesome image? Well, by the ways she's dressed, she looks like a total tramp! She has this purple thong like thing on with two strips of fabric covering her breasts. Gross!

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Richard sat outside the hospital room where Raven had just been put in after surgery. Vic had arrived a little while after. He gave Richard a look as if he understood what was going on.

The doctor then came out. Richard stood up. He shook the doctor's hand. "Now, concerning Ms. Roth, she lost a lot of blood, but she most likely will make a full recovery. It should only be a matter of time before she wakes up. You can go inside if you want," she said before she walked away.

Richard looked at Vic. "You can go in while I wait out here." Vic said as he sat back down.

Richard smiled as he headed into the room. He was surprised to see Raven looking out the window. He bit his lip as he walked in. "Hey," he said softly.

Raven looked at him for a moment before she looked away. "Listen, Raven, I'm sorry that…"

"Richard, I really don't want to hear your excuses. The point is is that I protected you from being killed, and you left me. Then you stabbed me when I tried to explain what was going on. And yet you maliciously attacked me. I thought that after what happened it should be the other way around," Raven explained coldly.

Richard looked back at her. "You have every right to be angry at me. Heck, I'd understand if you wanted to kill me right now, which I really hope you don't. But for my own sake, I need to tell you want happened. Okay?" Richard answered.

Raven rolled her eyes and turned her head towards him. Richard smiled as he sat on the edge of the bed. "Okay. I guess I will start from, well, waking up in the hospital." So he began to explain everything up to the part where he thought that Raven had been Kori instead.

Raven nodded every so often. When he finished, she looked down at her hands, almost like she felt guilty before she looked up at him. "Richard, why couldn't you just wait to tell me that? Why did you have to leave me like that? When you wake up from a month's sleep and realize that the only man you have ever loved has left you, something snaps. Did you ever think about how hard that was for me?" Raven said as tears began to pool in her eyes.

Richard shook his head. "Of course you don't," Raven said coldly. Richard dropped his head, knowing that this wasn't helping.

"Look, if that's all, I'm going to get out of here. There's someone that wants to see you though." Richard said as he stood up and walked out.

Raven wouldn't even look at him. As Richard walked out silently, he realized that he had just screwed something very important over.

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Richard was lying on his couch reading the paper a few days later. Vic hadn't come home after that, but Richard didn't care. He didn't care about anything anymore.

He jumped when he heard a knock at his door. He got up slowly and walked over, not expecting who was standing there to be there.

"What do you want now?" he sneered.

"Actually I came to apologize," Raven answered.

"I don't need it," Richard said walking away, but leaving the door open.

Raven walked in. "Richard, I'm sorry. Vic explained the whole thing to me. Although you did leave me…why you did it was very sweet," Raven said with a small smile.

Richard turned around. "Really?" he asked. Raven nodded.

Richard seemed to open up a little more. "Is there any way you can forgive me for stabbing you accidentally?"

Raven looked at him with a hopeful look in her eyes. "We'll just have to see about that…"

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Raven looked at herself in the mirror. This was her first time on an actual date with Richard. And this was also where she was going to have to tell Richard why she became Ebony. She was nervous about that, but she was mostly nervous about going on a date.

She sat on her white couch. She placed her head in her hand. "This is so stupid. I'm acting like I did back when I was sixteen," she said a loud.

"Being sixteen was great," someone said from the doorway. She looked up scared. IT was only Richard standing in the doorway smiling.

"God, Richard, don't do that. You scared me half to death, and you know how much it takes to scare me," she said standing up.

"Yep. Say, by the way, after, do you want to rent a copy of _Wicked Scary_?" he mocked.

"You better be quiet before I go Wicked Scary on your ass, buddy," she said grabbing her purse.

"You look very nice," he said awkwardly.

"Thank you, but Richard, I'd prefer you didn't go all goo goo like you were with Kori when we were 15," Raven said, giving him a light punch on his shoulder.

Richard smiled, but she still did look really nice, and she wasn't in her normal dark blue or purple. She had on a black blazer with a lacy red camisole under it and long black pants along with black heeled sandals.

Raven saw him looking at her. "You don't look half bad yourself," she said to him as they walked out the door. Richard smiled. This was the Raven he really knew; feisty, sarcastic, and just plain honest, no matter what the topic was. She was acting like she was back when they were in the tower. And Richard was happy about that.

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That night had gone so much differently than he had planned. He had expected it to be a nice dinner, but what happened after…it was amazing. **_(A/N- okay, I'm going to leave this to your imaginations. I know what you're probably thinking, and that's what I would have written, but I'm not very good at that type of writing. If you want to think that they spent the whole night making out, fine with me. Think what you want.)_**

And every night that followed that one was even better. **_(a/n- Not in a perverted way. It's meaning that his nights with Raven became more and more romantic.)_**

But after a few months of seeing each other almost every night, there was something Richard wasn't expecting to come up.

One night, coincidentally on the same day, only 6 years after, of the day the Titans officially split up, Richard was driving to her apartment, feeling unusually confident.

When she opened the door, he could tell by her face that something was not right. "Raven, what is it?" he asked worriedly.

"There's something I need to tell you," she said softly.

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Wonder what Raven's secret could be. Is it big? Is it small? Will it affect their relationship? Who knows? I know! Ha! You'll just have to wait and see about it.


	5. Heartbroken

Howdy. I am back. I started my newest story, which I believe is a big hit considering it has 31 reviews for two chapters. Anyways, I am back and I am here to reveal Raven's secret, so sit tight and read!

O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O

"So that's it? That's your big news?" Richard asked angrily. He stood up and began to pace.

"Well, yeah," Raven shrugged.

"So you're just going to leave me like that? After everything?" Richard said.

"It's not like I want to go. But it is my duty. I am the next in line," she explained, trying to stay calm.

"Why can't someone else do it?" Richard shouted.

"Someone else could, but I believe that I should," she said standing up, becoming angry.

"Fine. Then leave me here to go become Queen of Azerath," Richard said throwing his hands up in defeat.

"I can't believe that I am hearing this coming from someone like you. You're so selfish Richard," she said disgusted.

"Selfish? Me?" he spat.

"Yes. You're mad because I'm going to leave you for something else. Richard, I love you with all my heart. But my people do come before anything of this planet, even you. If I choose not to oblige with it, then Azerath may be in the hands of a madman. After Arella died, her son, my stepbrother Hawke was put in position of king. On her deathbed, she said her final wish was to have me be queen if anything went wrong. Well, Hawke decided it would be best for everyone if he stepped down, which he did. I received a letter today alerting me of this. And, I am leaving tomorrow," she said.

Richard gawked at her. "You're leaving tomorrow?"

Raven nodded. "They need me as soon as possible," she admitted softly.

"What about me? I need you! I need you here with me!" Richard pleaded.

She walked over and wrapped her arms around him. "I know you do. And I need you. I'm only planning on staying until my second cousin whatever is going to be old enough to rule. Then, when she turns eighteen, I'll come back," she said.

"And how long would that be?" Richard asked hopefully.

"About two years," she whispered.

Richard pushed her away. "Two years? In two years, I might be dead," he said.

"Wow, that's a good way to think," Raven mumbled.

"Why can't you just decline it? Why can't you stay here with me?" he begged.

"Richard, listen to me. I know that you are very upset about this. But I thought you of all people would respect you parent and what they had wished of you. I guess not," she said.

She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I had hoped you would have understood, but I guess not," she said. She walked over to the door and held it open, almost as if saying 'get out'.

Richard walked out and stood there. He faced her. "Goodbye Richard," she said before she closed the door.

Richard stood there for a few minutes, just in awe. As he stepped out of the apartment building, he sighed, feeling much less confident than when he arrived. He stopped and reached into his pocket. As he pulled out the small velvet box, he knew it was over. And there was nothing that could be done to save it.

O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O

Richard tossed and turned in his sleep. Nothing could calm him down; nothing could save him. He was lost.

Vic had decided to go and try and find a place of his own nearby. But, according to him, nearby was the next house over.

So Richard was alone again, and he had no one to talk to about it. So as he went to bed that night, he went knowing he would most likely live the rest of his life like this. He'd give up as Nightwing and quit his job.

That night he had nightmare of those two weeks spent in Bruce's mansion. He just kept seeing the dead bodies over and over.

And then, almost as he were floating, he saw his dead body. A young woman laughed as she watched him flop to the ground lifeless. He knew that laugh anywhere. It wasn't Kori's either. It was Raven's.

Richard shot up panting. He got out of bed slowly and made his way toward the kitchen. He switched the light on and grabbed cup from the cupboard. After filling it with cold water, he drank it.

As he was, he swore he heard something from his bedroom. He shrugged it off, figuring that it was probably the wind or something.

So he placed the cup into the dishwasher and walked back towards his bedroom after turning out the light.

when he reopened the door to his room, he again thought he heard something. But he shook it off once more, just thinking he was tired.

As he made his way towards his bed, he now knew he wasn't hearing thing. A long arm wrapped itself around his neck like a snake, and a damp cloth was shoved against his mouth.

While he tumbled to the ground, he took one look at who it was. When he did, he swore to himself. He knew those green eyes anywhere. And then, everything turned black.

O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O

Well, what do you think? Of course Kori is back! Why wouldn't she be? It's supposed to happen like this, and I warned you in the earlier chapters. She would be back. Ha! Tell me if it's good. You know you want to.


	6. Remorse

**Sigh. I deserve being hit with pink rubber duckies for not updating in almost 7 months. I feel so bad. But, I have come back, and so has the next chapter. **

**Author's Note- For those of you who haven't read the other story, and even those who have, you can figure out that Kori is a very OOC character in my stories. Being OOC makes her a good character and good villain in them. So, you have been warned.

* * *

**

Raven finished placing her items in the suitcase before clasping it. She sat down on the couch next to it, staring at it. Why did she have to do this?

She loved Richard more than anything in the world. She couldn't leave him! He had always been there for her. He even risked his life to save her many, many times. And now she was leaving him with nothing.

What Raven hadn't thought about until today was that leaving Richard might not be good for his health. Richard was one of the most unstable people she had ever met, and when things changed abruptly, he didn't handle it too well.

As a teen, Richard managed to uphold a tough, unmoved façade, but Raven was always able to see through it and see the young, tortured boy that truly lay inside. Richard probably had more problems as a teen than she did, and that was saying a lot.

'**_You can't change the fact that this is your duty to look over your home planet until Larika is eighteen. Once she is, you can come back and pick up where you and Richard left off' _**a voice said in her head.

"What if he doesn't want to pick up from there?" she answered herself out loud. She was so confused. She grabbed the pillow that was lying next to her and screamed into it as loud as she could.

She decided after when she realized that she was angrier now than before she did that, that screaming into pillows isn't a good idea.

She pushed the suitcase off the couch where it crashed on the ground. She then grabbed her keys and headed to her car.

As she sat in the driver's seat of her black Lexus, she knew she needed to talk to someone. So, she pulled up in front of Richard's apartment building, but, of course, she wasn't planning on talking to him.

"Hey Raven," Vic said as he answered the door. She sauntered in, hoping that talking to normally calm Victor would help her out.

* * *

Meanwhile, Richard wasn't having the best of luck. He woke from his state of his unconsciousness with no idea where he was and an extremely stiff neck. He began to hear things rustling around him, but he didn't open his eyes.

"Open your eyes already," a voice commanded. Richard obeyed, forgetting who his captor was, and did the best he could to get them open. But once he saw her, he was wide awake.

She stood there smirking. She was wearing a sleek black leather cat suit and her red hair was pulled up, reminding Richard of flames. Around her voluptuous hips was a belt that held many things, including a gun.

He was sitting on the ground. His feet were bound with an electronic mechanism that was unbreakable and his arms were in handcuffs that were hanging from a higher point on the wall. His wife beater was slightly torn around the abdomen area, and his sweatpants were tattered.

"You looked so sweet, so innocent when you weren't conscious. What ever happened to you?" she said sarcastically before rolling her eyes and turning around to a small table.

"What do you want?" Richard asked, slowly clearing his throat.

"Isn't it obvious Richard? I mean, come on, how thick are you?" Kori answered facing him. She walked over to him. She then straddled him and kneeled down.

"What are you talking about?" he replied, more confused than he had ever been.

She traced her fingers over his chest. "All I've ever wanted is you, Rich. How could you not realize?" Her voice dripped with seductiveness. She then slammed her lips against Richard's and passionately kissed him. He couldn't get her off him, so all he could do was sit there and endure. She then backed away and looked at him with an almost happy look on her face. Then she recoiled and surprised him by slapping him so hard his vision swam.

"But you never thought about me. All you thought about was yourself and that backstabbing skank," she spat bitterly as she jumped to her feet.

Richard went to say something but decided not to. "How did you manage to live?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Someone helped me and brought me back to life," she responded simply.

"Who?" Richard asked, feeling like he was in some 13 year old boy's science fiction books now.

"Say hello to Richard," she beckoned to a silhouette in the shadows that Richard hadn't seen until now.

He stepped out of the shadows. "You've got to be kidding me. Is this some sort of sick joke?" Richard asked as Slade walked out. "Who's next, the gangsters that killed my parents?"

Kori snickered. "No, they were on vacation. We could've used them, though."

Richard frowned and rolled his eyes. He took a deep breath. Until now, he hadn't realized the severity of this. He was basically incapacitated with two extremely psychotic people. No one knew he was gone. And Raven…

Raven. He wouldn't even get to say good-bye to her, to apologize for yelling at her, to say that he loved her more than anything in the world. She would never find out what actually happened. Richard sighed. It didn't matter. He had ruined it with her. He should have just understood that she had to leave and dealt with it without yelling at her. He would be surprised if she ever spoke to him again. Now, with this, he would be lucky if she even remembered he wasn't there when she returned from Azerath…

'I'm not going to think like that. I will not. I'm going to get out of this' Richard scolded himself.

"Can we start this yet?" Slade asked Kori, trying to imagine Richard wasn't in the room.

"Yeah, everything's set, and he can't do anything," Kori answered simply, shrugging.

"What are you planning?" Richard shouting, trying to hold some amount of authority in his voice, but he failed miserably.

Kori tilted her head slightly. "Well, since we can't be together, I figured there is only one way we can share a bond. And, of course, you would never agree to it," she laughed. Slade snickered behind her.

She began to walk over him, a short syringe in her hand. "What is that for?" he asked, wondering why villains always had to be so general when they spoke. They could never just tell you what was going on. "Kori, what are you going to do?" he asked quietly.

She stopped. "You have no other friends. Your girlfriend is leaving for another planet and won't return for two years. No one will miss you, which means that no one will realize what happened," she said to him, but it was almost as if she was assuring herself.

"Please, just tell what the hell is happening here," Richard begged.

Kori stared into his eyes for a moment, almost as if she was remorseful. Then, it went away. "I plan to impregnate myself and have your child," she stated as if it were absolutely nothing.

Richard was floored. These two were nuts. If there was a prize for creating to sickest (and not in a good way) plans in the world, Kori and Slade would win hands down.

Richard was brought out of his thoughts by the jabbing of the needle into his arm. Kori was about to push the fluid into his arm when a loud crash rang out through the building as a figure dove through the high window. The showering glass bounced onto the ground.

"KORI!" a voice ran out.

Her head whipped around. Slade perked up, walking to see who it was. The mysterious person walked out. It was her. Richard went to say something.

"…Ebony," he said. She smiled sultrilyat him as she raised her eyebrows.

She then turned back to Kori and said, "Drop that thing now."

"Who in the world are you?" Kori asked confused as she withdrew the needle from Richard's arm.

Slade walked up from behind. "Can't you tell? Purple hair. Who has purple hair?" he mocked.

Richard froze as he saw Raven become extremely uneasy. In one fluid motion slade whipped the red and black mask off Raven's eyes. In the quickest moment, Kori's facial expression changed from bewilderment to utmost rage.

Raven started to back up as Kori made her towards her, but Slade slammed a hand over her mouth, making her powerless and held her arms above her head with the other hand.

"Finsh what you started," he commanded motioning to Richard. Kori shook herself out of it and grabbed the needle once more. There was no way out of this.


	7. Love

**…Um, yeah. Should I introduce myself, or do you still remember me? Well, it has been over a year. I honestly can't believe I let it go that far. And since I've been in a huge updating rut lately and I've also gotten myself into this plot where I can't remember what I was planning to write, I'm afraid this is where the story of Choices must end. It's been fun, but it's time for me to say good-bye.**

* * *

When Richard opened his eyes, he found himself lying on the ground, like some discarded piece of trash. When he thought to himself, that was what he basically was. He looked and saw Kori and Slade standing over a computer. As soon as he saw her, he felt sick to his stomach.

He just wanted to close his eyes and pass out again. He felt disgusting. He wanted, needed to get out. He closed his eyes and pretended to pass out as he saw Slade coming.

"You're finally awake?" someone said from beside him. He opened one eyes carefully, almost frightened of what was to come. He knew it was female, but couldn't process who.

Raven smiled back at him, lying in an awkward position on the floor. He made an attempt to smile at her, but he didn't know what he was smiling about. Her outfit was torn in various spots, her mask was in who knows where, her hair was mussed, and she was injured all over.

She palmed her hands on the ground, and with a lot of stealth, but almost no noise, she effortlessly moved herself across the floor to where Richard was.

"What's wrong?" he asked her, motioning to her strange movement.

"My leg is broken, and I can't heal myself." She pointed to a small electronic brace that was located around her left ankle. "Those bastards beat the crap out of me, and to top it off, they completely disable me with the broken leg and my inability to heal now. If anyone is going to be doing some fighting, it's going to be you Richard."

He looked at her before looking away. "No, I can't. I won't."

Her eyes narrowed at him. "Richard, stop this bullshit. Drop your cocky stubbornness. Either we're both going to die, or you're going to have to stand up and pull yourself together to kick their butts. I need you Richard. I need you more than ever," she said, lowering her voice to a whisper, placing her hand on his shoulder as she pulled him closer to her.

He turned and looked her in the eyes. Her brow was furrowed. But past her look of determination, he saw pain in her eyes. She was hurting. "Okay. I'll do it." He got to his feet, but before he did, he kissed her softly on the forehead. "I love you."

"Stop being corny and go beat them up, because I know you can," she ordered harshly. But as he turned his back to her, he saw the smile on her face.

* * *

It took all of his energy to get the ankle bracelet key from Slade. Once he did, he practically ripped it off Raven. She healed her leg as quick as she could, and they both fought together to defeat Starfire and Slade. They both took their true nemesis: Richard fighting off Slade and Raven fighting with Starfire. 

"You'll never make him as happy as I just did. We're not even in love, but I can tell he enjoyed it," Starfire said evilly as she threw starbolts. Raven froze in horror. Did she just say that?

Rage grew within Raven. And something began to happen that she hadn't felt in 5 years. She began to feel her demon side take over.

How was this happening? She had gotten control over her emotions. It shouldn't be happening.

After all these years, Starfire could still say those little things that could get to her. And after all these years, Raven still couldn't stand it as her defenses began to crumble.

She fell to her knees, clutching her head. Jealousy, anger, rage, lust, betrayal; all those emotions were swarming back into her mind.

In the mean time, Richard was still battling with Slade, which had become unusually easy. At one point during the fight, his focus went to the two girls. Raven was one her knees clutching her head while Starfire stood over her, relishing in the moment.

He started to go there when Slade kicked him in the side, sending him flying backwards. Richard got up and went after Slade

Raven tried to call out to Richard, but it was too late. Her eyes became red. And with that, she couldn't remember anything after.

Richard stopped when he heard loud scream. A scream he had heard in the past. When he turned, he saw Raven with blood-red eyes. Her purple hair was blowing backward. Long black shadows were pushing her upwards towards the ceiling.

Slade was mesmerized by this. "Finally," he said. As he was staring her, Richard kicked him in the stomach. When Richard did, he disappeared. A metal disc fell to the floor.

"He was a hologram?" Richard asked himself. He was so confused. What was the whole point of this? He got Kori's plan, but creating a fake Slade?

When he ran over to Kori saw her with what looked like a large pointer with a gun on the end. "What is that?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

"While researching Raven's past, I learned that she is most vulnerable to injuries in demon form. She can't heal all her injuries that she receives in demon form. So if we are ever going to be together, I have to get rid of the one thing standing in our way," she replied calmly.

"Be together? Since when are we going to be together?" Richard exclaimed.

Kori turned to him. "You love me Richard, you know you do. Nothing will stop you from loving me. This child will keep us together forever. And no little demon tramp is going stop me from having the perfect family!" she shouted before turned back to Raven and pushed the button. Electricity began to fly forward, hitting Raven. Kori began to laugh and walk closer.

As she did, Richard grabbed the end and pulled it out of her arms. He moved it and pushed it into her back, causing her to be shocked. He left it there, driving it into her back as she screamed.

She dropped to the ground. Richard, wanting to make sure that Kori was finished, pulled the pointer and stabbed her with it repeatedly. He drove into her chest on last time. As her body dropped to the ground with a loud thud, Richard dropped the weapon on top of her.

He didn't understand this. Raven had told at the party that she had gotten control over her emotions. So how had this happened?

No matter, he needed to get her back into human form. He tried to think back to the other times that she had done it. When he couldn't think of any times where she had just turned off the demon switch, he just began to talk to her.

"R-Raven, come on, I don't know what's going on. And when I don't know what's going on, it's pretty scary. We all know you're the brains of the two of us, so you have to come back to me. I'm not sure what Kori said to you to trigger this, but whatever it was, it wasn't true. In any way. You have to trust me. You've trusted me to save you before. I'm going to do it now. You just have to help me help you," Richard said.

With that, Raven gasped. All within a few seconds, her eyes went back to normal, the winds stopped blowing, and the shadows disappeared. Richard was right under her to catch her when she fell.

* * *

When Raven woke up the next day, she was surprised to find herself in Richard's apartment. She couldn't remember anything that had happened. 

She pulled back the comforter and saw she was in pair of shorts and a t-shirt. She smiled at his awkward cuteness.

"Oh, you're awake," someone said from the door, starling her. Her head snapped up, bringing her eye to eye with Richard.

"Yeah, I just woke up," She said with a smile.

"Hold on," Richard replied as he walked out. A moment later he walked back in with a mug of tea. "Sorry, no herbal. Just black earl grey," he stated as he sat down on the bed next to her.

"That's alright. That's…sweet of you," she answered, taken back by the action.

"Um…what I wanted to talk to you about was last night, if that's okay with you of course," he mumbled.

She pushed her hair behind her ears. "Why not? What's wrong?"

"Well, at that party, which happened months ago, you told me you had gained control over your emotions. Were you lying to me, or what? What happened last night?" Richard questioned.

Raven cleared her throat. "I didn't lie to you. Last night, Kori managed to get to me. Usually, Kori was the one who got to me. She said some nasty things that shook me and made by bad stronger emotions become too powerful. When too many emotions become too powerful, that can lead to me going into the demon form. But I highly doubt that'll ever happen," she responded quietly, running a finger around the rim of her cup.

Richard nodded. "You know, I honestly thought you were going to leave. You surprised me."

Raven chuckled under her breath. "Really?"

"What made you stay?" Richard said in a more serious tone.

"I talked to Vic, and he gave me some advice," Raven shrugged.

Richard nodded, knowing that wasn't it.

Raven sensed this too. She sighed. "Alright. I knew that if we were in each other's positions…if say we were on Azerath, you were going to be King of Earth or something and you had to leave me, even though I begged you not to, I knew you wouldn't. You never would," she told him, as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"You're right, I wouldn't. I could never," Richard said to her.

Raven smiled at this. For some reason that was unknown to her, she began to laugh hysterically.

"What?" Richard demanded. "What was so funny about that?"

Raven shook her head, trying to answer that nothing was funny; that she liked his answer. But nothing came out.

When she finally caught her breath, she said to him, "You're so cute."

Richard grinned in disbelief as he raised his eyebrows. "Me? Cute? You've got to be kidding me…"

Raven smiled back at him. "Which is why I love you…"

* * *

**Wow. That was probably the MOST awkward 14 sentences in a story in the world. Otherwise, I really liked the way I ended this story, considering I started the whole 'kori is an insane psychopathic monster who wants to kill raven and have richard's children' without knowing where I was going to go with it after. Anyway, it's been fun. It took me two years to write seven chapters…but if you like this story and you haven't read **_**forbidden**_**, go read it. NOW.**


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